From stardust to first cells : the origin and evolution of early life / Sankar Chatterjee.
Chatterjee, Sankar, author.
2023
QH325 .C43 2023
Available Online

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Title From stardust to first cells : the origin and evolution of early life / Sankar Chatterjee.
Author Chatterjee, Sankar, author.
ISBN 9783031233975 electronic book
3031233972 electronic book
3031233964
9783031233968
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23397-5
Published Cham, Switzerland : Springer, [2023]
Language English
Description 1 online resource
Other Standard Identifiers 10.1007/978-3-031-23397-5 doi
Call Number QH325 .C43 2023
Dewey Decimal Classification 576.8/3
Summary This book presents a groundbreaking hypothesis to answer one of the greatest scientific mysteries: How did life begin? Like a detective piecing together seemingly disparate bits of evidence, Dr. Sankar Chatterjee combines the most recent discoveries in cosmology, geology, chemistry, information systems, and biology, weaving a vast tapestry from the threads of current research. Dr. Chatterjee convincingly argues that the odyssey of life first began when the fundamental building blocks were brought to Earth by meteorites. These cosmic compounds concentrated and simmered like a soup in hydrothermal crater-caldrons. Through a system of subterranean vent networks, a biosynthetic-rich variety of organic compounds mixed and matched into a recipe of rich biomolecules guided by prebiotic information systems. Through symbiosis, these complex biopolymers gradually assemble into membrane-bound protocells. At each stage of this evolutionary progression, through natural selection, they refined with increasing stability and complexity, ultimately leading to the emergence of the first cells about four billion years ago. In this book, Dr. Chatterjee tells this story in rigorous detail in language that is both accessible and engaging.
Note 7.5.3 Chemical Energy for Protometabolism
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed September 28, 2023).
Available in Other Form From Stardust to First Cells
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Intro
Preface
Objectives
Acknowledgments
Contents
1: Prologue
1.1 Genesis
1.2 Early Theories of the Origin of Life
1.3 Panspermia
1.4 Abiogenesis: The Oparin-Haldane Theory
1.5 The Miller-Urey Experiment: Life in a Test Tube
1.6 Clue from Outer Space
1.7 Conclusions
References
2: Defining Life
2.1 What Is Life?
2.2 Attributes of Life
2.3 Attempts to Define Life
2.4 Conclusions
References
3: Biological Information Systems
3.1 The Concept of Information in Biology
3.2 Biological Information Systems

3.3 Where Did Life's Information Systems Begin?
3.4 Destruction of Information: The Key to Abiogenesis
3.5 Transfer of Information
3.6 Prebiotic Information Systems
3.7 Conclusions
References
4: Origin of Life: A Model of Hierarchical Complexity
4.1 The Complexity of Living Systems
4.2 The Hierarchy of Prebiotic Synthesis of Organic Compounds
4.3 The Cosmic Stage
4.4 The Geological Stage
4.5 The Chemical Stage
4.6 The Digital Information Stage
4.7 The Biological Stage
4.8 Conclusions
References
5: Cosmic Connections

5.1 Supernova Explosion and the Origin of the Solar System
5.2 Asteroids and Comets
5.3 The Hadean Eon: The Origin of Earth and the Moon
5.4 Moon-Forming Impact and Iron Catastrophe
5.5 After the Moon's Formation
5.6 Collision and Creation: The Building Blocks of Life
5.7 The Solvent of Life
5.8 Conclusions
References
6: The Cradle of Life
6.1 Geological Constraints on the Origin of Life
6.2 A Habitable Eoarchean World
6.2.1 Eoarchean Crustal Evolution
6.2.2 Impact Origin of Archean Cratons

6.3 Habitat of Hyperthermophiles: A Window to Life's Beginnings
6.4 Hydrothermal Systems and the Prebiotic Environment
6.5 Geologic Setting of Hydrothermal Systems
6.5.1 Submarine Hydrothermal Vents
6.5.1.1 Black Smokers
6.5.1.2 Lost City
6.5.2 Arguments Against Submarine Hydrothermal Vents
6.5.3 Terrestrial Hydrothermal Systems
6.5.3.1 Darwin's Warm Little Pond Revisited
6.5.3.2 Impact-Generated Hydrothermal Crater Lakes
6.6 Morphology and Distribution of the Impact Crater Lakes
6.7 Reconstruction of Impact Crater Lakes in the Vaalbara Supercontinent

6.8 Microbial Colonization in Impact Crater Lakes
6.9 The Plausible Cradle for Life's Beginnings
6.10 Conclusions
References
7: Bioenergetics and Primitive Metabolism
7.1 Thermodynamics and Energy Conversions
7.2 Energy Sources for Emerging Life
7.3 Global Energy Sources
7.3.1 Solar Energy
7.3.2 Impact Shock Waves
7.4 Energy Sources in Localized Environments
7.4.1 Thermal Energy
7.4.2 Chemical Energy
7.4.3 Electrochemical Energy
7.5 Metabolic Energy
7.5.1 The Origin of Metabolism
7.5.2 The Role of Mineral Surfaces in Protometabolism

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